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X-Men (film)
X-Men is a 2008 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics team of the same name. It was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Patrick Stewart, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Hugh Jackman, Lupita Nyong'o, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Rose Leslie, Luke Treadaway, Daniel Cudmore, Liev Schreiber, Blair Redford, Robert Redford, and Ian McKellan. It was released on July 2, 2008. Plot In 2001, the X-Men, a team of super-powered mutants, go missing in action, leaving only their leader, Scott Summers/Cyclops behind. Ten years later, paraplegic telepath Charles Xavier, the founder and mentor of the X-Men, along with Summers attend a Congress hearing in which the topic of the "Mutant Registration Act", in which mutants would be forced to register and identify themselves, thought of by Senator Robert Kelly, is discussed. Also there is Xavier's former ally and best friend Erik Lensherr/Magneto, who can manipulate metal. Xavier is worried Lensherr will attempt to kill Kelly and follows him. They argue over the world's treatment of mutants before Lensherr leaves. At Xavier's mansion in Westchester, which he has turned into a school for young mutants, teacher, and former student, Ororo Munroe/Storm reassures the students that the MRA will not pass, though she is reluctant herself. In Alberta, teenage Theresa Cassidy discovers she has the ability to scream at super-sonic levels, injuring her mother in the process. Theresa runs away as a result. Magneto returns to his base on the island of Genosha. His mutant allies shapeshifting Mystique and animalistic Sabretooth learn of Lensherr's plan to assassinate Kelly during his speech at the White House the next day. Mystique reveals that the energy signature they had been tracking has been found. In Alberta, Theresa meets Logan/Wolverine, a cage fighter with metal claws. Logan agrees to give her a ride to the train station. However, on their way, Sabretooth and Mystique arrive and recruit Theresa to their team. Sabretooth and Logan are revealed to know each other and fight. Theresa joins Mystique as long as Logan comes to. When he refuses, they kidnap him. At the X-Mansion, Xavier and Summers return and end the school day. Summers has a dream of Jean Grey, one of the original X-Men and his fiancee, returning, though he awakens to find himself alone. That day, Kelly is attacked at the speech, though Theresa stops Magneto. She is caught on camera with Magneto and Sabretooth, which Xavier sees and orders Summers and Storm to find her. On Genosha, Mystique tortures Logan to convince him to join them, though he consistently refuses. Storm and Summers arrive and rescue him, though Mystique escapes. Logan helps them save Theresa, and they leave. Xavier knows that Magneto will continue in his attempts to kill Kelly until he succeeds. Despite Summers' worries, Xavier decides to reinstate the X-Men, with new members. Recruiting Storm, Logan, and Theresa, along with teleporter Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, Peter Rasputin/Colossus, who can turn his body into steel, and John Proudstar/Thunderbird, who has heightened senses, allowing him to track and find people. The six will be led by Summers, in an attempt to find Magneto before he can kill Kelly. Magneto, Mystique, and Sabretooth abandon Genosha due to Xavier finding them and lay low in the city. Kelly is advised to stay hidden as well, but to show that he is unafraid of mutants, decides to make another appearance in New York. Xavier sends the X-Men to the spot in advance to help him from a distance, but when Kelly recognizes them he has them arrested, believing they are there to hurt him. With the X-Men in government custody, Magneto, Mystique, and Sabretooth arrive downtown. On a train to a mutant facility, the X-Men use their powers combined to escape. Downtown, a bullet is fired at Kelly, which Summers stops. The X-Men and Magneto's team get into a fight, while Kelly is evacuated. However, Mystique is revealed to be posing as his driver. Killing his guards, she prepares to kill Kelly as well, until Xavier gets in her head and convinces her not to, as it would only increase interest for the Act. Magneto is arrested, while Mystique and Sabretooth escape and go their separate ways. The X-Men are applauded for their intervention of the attack and Kelly begins to rethink his stance on mutants. At the Mansion, Logan becomes a teacher, while Theresa is instated as a student and dons the name Siryn, along with learning that her father was one of the X-Men that disappeared in 1998. Summers tells Xavier about his dreams and Xavier believes that the X-Men are still out there somewhere, waiting to be found. Meanwhile, Magneto sits in his cell, but begins to smile as the guards in the other room begin to scream, with a bullet flying around the room. In a post-credits scene, Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps a tab on the X-Men. Cast *Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X *Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Scott Summers/Cyclops *Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine *Lupita Nyong'o as Ororo Munroe/Storm *Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as Raven Darkholme/Mystique *Rose Leslie as Theresa Cassidy/Siryn *Luke Treadaway as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler *Daniel Cudmore as Peter Rasputin/Colossus *Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed/Sabretooth *Blair Redford as John Proudstar/Thunderbird *Robert Redford as Robert Kelly *Ian McKellan as Erik Lensherr/Magneto Reception 'Box office' X-Men grossed $227.9 million (36.5%) in the United States and Canada and $396.4 million (63.5%) in other territories for a total of $624.4 million. Worldwide, it is the one-hundred-thirty-eighth highest-grossing film and the fourth highest-grossing 2008 film. It achieved a worldwide opening weekend of $185.6 million. 'Critical reception' On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 41% based on 220 reviews, with an average score of 5.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though it begins with promise, X-Men suffers from a flimsy narrative and poor execution."